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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
High four ⭐. This debut did a wonderful job balancing the plot of the family's history, character development, and the real life political history. I really loved the relationship between mother and son and what difficulties they had between themselves.
A book of two halves. It has taken me two attempts to read this as I found it to feel like an epic saga, despite being less than 400 pages. I really enjoyed the first section of the book which took place in mainland China during the second Sino-Japanese war and really connected with the character of Meilin on her journey to keep her son Renshu safe following their refugee journey. This was well drawn out and I found the setting and the time period to be well created and could imagine it vividly. However, when the story moved on to the second and third generation (Henry, previously Renshu and his daughter Lily) I felt myself disconnecting. The author spent such effort building that bond with Meilin and then she just disappeared. I found both Henry and Lily to be infuriating and really struggled through the latter part of the book. I feel like the author was trying to build in the themes of heritage but it felt clunky and contrived and I don't think it worked as well as the earlier section of the book. It was definitely an interesting read and I learned a lot from it and found passages of the writing to be beautiful. But I felt let down by the latter parts which did not live up to the exceptional writing in the first sections. I'd still recommend reading it and would be interested to hear how you got on with the generational shift in the narrative.
A beautifully constructed story I didn’t know anything about Chinese war in 1940s and it was well written in the way a tragic war can be described through the love of family. I gave four stars bc I wanted more lily and more process by renshu tho I also understand that that’s most he could give. Still recommend.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Historical fiction should be more than just putting people in history. The characters were flat and eventually I kind is stopped caring about them. The writing has promise but I needed more story.
The backdrop to this book is a part of history that I knew nothing about and was very interesting to read about. The terror they felt was palpable. I think the second half of the book when Renshu goes to America is weaker in that what he experiences and feels is a lot more vague. And at some point Meilin’s point of view and experiences are just dropped from the story.
Story across generations of loss, resilience, and identity. I got a little frustrated in the middle once the story shifted to the US by Henry’s voice and actions but it resolved well.
"Loss should bring families together, not tear it apart"
This beautiful story by spans three generations: my heart tensed as I read about Meilin and her son Renshu during the Japanese invasion of China. The resilience shown by Meilin to provide normalcy and joy for her son, through storytelling touched me, and I cried when a heirloom was exchanged in a cruel twist.
My heart swelled with pride as strangers supported Meilin and Renshu. In time, Renshu has a chance to begin anew in the Beautiful Country.
As Renshu assimulates as Henry, he still longs for the familiar, where jokes and cultural references does not translate well. Henry is navigating the tightrope which crosses into both cultures. However, he understands the role he plays and the 'desirable' attributes he brings to a whitecentric society...This is a point which I related VERY HARD to. Especially in my earlier childhood and up to my early thirties. It was a lot easier to assiumulate, and I have often pushed away the guilt. It is only more recently I have been kinder to myself and understood this as a trauma response.
Although Meilin and Henry may have stopped their storytelling, Henry's daughter Lily is eager for these stories...
As a Hong Konger who has emigrated to the UK at a younger age who has not heard many stories of my community, I felt like Lily; keen to understand, but also feel unspoken intergenerational traumas.
Each character in turn mourns the life they intended, and the experiences they had. Reading how the trauma and reactions played out within the family and the community, as China becomes divided and new territories are drawn was breathtaking and heartbreaking. Everyone seeks their own Peach Blossom Spring.
Reading this novel has given me much insight into some of the historical contexts which has shaped China, Taiwan and the Chinese Diaspora around the world.
This beautiful story by spans three generations: my heart tensed as I read about Meilin and her son Renshu during the Japanese invasion of China. The resilience shown by Meilin to provide normalcy and joy for her son, through storytelling touched me, and I cried when a heirloom was exchanged in a cruel twist.
My heart swelled with pride as strangers supported Meilin and Renshu. In time, Renshu has a chance to begin anew in the Beautiful Country.
As Renshu assimulates as Henry, he still longs for the familiar, where jokes and cultural references does not translate well. Henry is navigating the tightrope which crosses into both cultures. However, he understands the role he plays and the 'desirable' attributes he brings to a whitecentric society...This is a point which I related VERY HARD to. Especially in my earlier childhood and up to my early thirties. It was a lot easier to assiumulate, and I have often pushed away the guilt. It is only more recently I have been kinder to myself and understood this as a trauma response.
Although Meilin and Henry may have stopped their storytelling, Henry's daughter Lily is eager for these stories...
As a Hong Konger who has emigrated to the UK at a younger age who has not heard many stories of my community, I felt like Lily; keen to understand, but also feel unspoken intergenerational traumas.
Each character in turn mourns the life they intended, and the experiences they had. Reading how the trauma and reactions played out within the family and the community, as China becomes divided and new territories are drawn was breathtaking and heartbreaking. Everyone seeks their own Peach Blossom Spring.
Reading this novel has given me much insight into some of the historical contexts which has shaped China, Taiwan and the Chinese Diaspora around the world.
What a beautiful story of resilience. Meilin was such a brilliant character. I loved everything about her and was fully rooting for her the whole time. I loved the way the scroll was almost a character in itself and how Meilin used it as comfort and teaching for her son and herself. The characters felt frustratingly real. There weren't a lot of "satisfying" moments where things were tied up with a bow or characters communicated effectively and came to mutual understandings, but it felt more authentic because of it.